


Come home

by Apollos_New_Kids



Category: New Kid Army - Fandom
Genre: New Kid Army
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 11:45:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14111649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apollos_New_Kids/pseuds/Apollos_New_Kids
Summary: Ari's been missing for months, kidnapped by their biological parents. However, they've finally been found.





	Come home

They hadn't seen the light for a while. Ari didn't even know how long they had been locked away in that small room.

They just wanted to go home. They might be related to the people holding him captive, but they didn't see them as family. 

The young child curled up and started sobbing softly. They had been snatched out of their own room in the middle of the night by their biological parents who had managed to track them down somehow. 

They missed Ava. They missed the large pile of stuffed animals they had in their room. They missed all their friends in the NKA. Hell, they even missed their parents fighting.

The room was cold and lonely. The sound of the door creaking open made them fall completely silent. They didn't want to be beaten thanks to their sobs. 

A soft scraping noise and crinkling informed them that a plate had been slid in along with a bottle of water. They couldn't see who by as the hall was kept dark as well.

The blond flinched as the door was roughly slammed closed. Quickly, they crawled forward and pulled the plate close as soon as they touched it, knowing that there was always a chance that someone could come back and take it away if they weren't quick enough.

Like always, it was just scraps from their kidnapper's meals, but still, they shoved it into their mouth quickly. 

Crawling around again while moving one hand over the ground, they finally located the bottle. Instead of gulping it down like they desperately wanted to, they slowly sipped at the stale tasting water, not knowing when they'd get more. 

They felt too weak to walk, leaving them to crawl back to their plate, they carefully ran their fingers over it, searching for another morsel of food. After finding none, they shakily lifted it and licked it, ignoring the bad taste.

Crawling forward again, they left the plate by the door like they had been instructed the first time they got food. 

Crawling back, they counted softly under their breath, using the numbers to inform them when they were in the spot they normally slept in. 

Swallowing softly, they reached up to fiddle with their necklace, finding a slight amount of comfort in the small amethyst love heart. It had been a gift from their mother before she passed. "I m-miss you, mummy. I wish the a-angels never called you a-away." Their voice came out as a soft weak rasp. 

They thought they would have cried all their tears long ago, but still, tears came to their heterochromia eyes.

Ari didn't have a single clue about how much time had passed to their kidnapping when the noises started outside their door. Confusion and fear flooded them, causing them to shuffle back until their bare feet roughly hit the brick wall behind them.

They knew it could be their kidnappers as they would have just unlocked the door. No. This was someone else. Someone new.

"Holy shit. There's a child down here!" 

The weak child shakily looked up, whimpering as light assaulted their eyes. As the person walked towards them and bent down to touch them, they started screaming. They didn't know they could be so loud after their time of being mute.

Once they started screaming, it was hard to stop. They were terrified. They had no clue if this was just a horrible prank on them. "G-G-GET AWAY FROM M-ME!"

"Hey. Kid. Calm down. I'm here to help." The officer took a step back from the hysterical child. It was by chance that she had found Ari. The force had gotten a tip about drugs and weapons being left around the house. She had been searching the basement when she had noticed a small door half blocked by a few boxes. 

She had simply broken down the door, turned on the hall lights and started walking, expecting to find more drugs and weapons. Instead in the locked room at the end of the hall, she found a small, beaten skinny child.

She at first thought she was looking at a dead body until they started screaming. Her heart broke. She had children of her own. She couldn't believe someone would do this. 

"Hey...Shush. I'm getting you out of here and to safety. My name is Officer Abigail."

"H-How can I trust you? How do I k-know this isn't a prank?"

"I know you're scared honey. But please. I'm getting you out of here." Taking a deep breath, she thought about what she should do to attempt to calm them down. "Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"I guess I c-could. I h-h-have nothing to lose." Refusing to meet the officer's eyes, they took a deep breath. 

"M-My name is Ari García. I l-lived in South Park w-with my step-sister, s-step mum and dad. I w-was adopted when I was a t-toddler."

Abigail's heart froze. Everyone knew about Ari. The small child had been kidnapped in the middle of the night by their biological parents, leaving a whole town devastated. 

"I j-just want t-to go home." Tears flooded down their cheeks. 

"You're going home. Trust me. Can you stand for me, Ari?" She held out her hand. Her heart was breaking. The child had been missing for months. They were feared to be dead.

"R-Really? I c-c-can see Ava and everyone e-else again?" Hope started to sparkle in their dull eyes. That was their only wish. 

"Yeah. They all miss you. The town misses you kid." She smiled softly, quickly catching the child as they attempted to stand and fell, their legs too weak to support them. 

She carefully picked them up, holding them close to her chest, moving as quickly as she could without hurting Ari. Abigail couldn't believe that after months, Ari had been found. Not safe but alive. 

Her heart panicked as the child's body went limp after they passed out from exhaustion, fear and relief. 

"Who's that?" 

Abigail's head turned to her co-worker, watching as Ari's parents' paled at the sight of the small child. 

"This is Ari García."

"You mean..."

"The kid who was kidnapped from their room by their biological parents in the middle of the night." She held Ari protectively to her chest, ignoring the stream of abuse escaping their parents' mouths. 

Luckily there was already an ambulance waiting, just in case anyone had gotten hurt in the raid. She took a breath as she handed them over to the pale paramedics. 

Running a hand through her hair, she left their side with a nod and one last devastated look at Ari's peaceful sleeping body. 

"You did well with finding the kid Abs."

"Imagine if I hadn't. The poor kid would have starved to death. It's a miracle they hadn't already. They must have been fed just enough to survive."

"They're safe now. We'll contact their parents and sister so they can get them and take them home."

"It's moments like these that make working in the force worth it. We saved Ari today." She sighed as she got into the patrol car. "Let's get out of here."

 

Ava had been doing her best to keep up hope that Ari would be okay. Every time the phone rang, she'd bolt towards it. She rarely left the house now. Instead, her friends came to her. 

A ringing interrupted the movie they were watching. No one was surprised at Ava throwing the blanket off of her and onto Sei who had been sitting next to her. 

With a shaking hand, she picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"This is Deputy Anderson. May I ask who I'm speaking to."

"A-Ava García." She swallowed. It had been a few weeks since the police had contacted the household. The phone call was causing her to fear the worst.

"You're Ari's older sister aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"I have good news and bad news."

Her heart froze. She was so sure that she was about to receive news about their body being found.

"We found them. They're alive but currently in a medically induced coma."

Instantly, Ava fell to her knees sobbing, not even noticing the other's calling out to her in worry and running over to her. "A-Are you serious?"

"I am. They're at the Denver hospital." Anderson couldn't help but smile slightly. Informing families that their loved ones were found alive was a good part of his job. Sure it was horrible to hear the young girl's sobs, but he was glad to relieve her of the worry that Ari was dead

"Oh my god. T-T-Thank you so much!" She dropped the phone, sobbing loudly as she ignored her shocked friends. 

"Ava? D-Did they find Ari? Are they okay?" Kerri looked at the others before crouching down, pulling her sobbing friend close.

Ava's words came out in a hysterical excited scream. "They f-found them! Ari's safe n-now. They're in a coma but they're s-safe!" She sobbed and leaned into Kerri's hold.

Sei swallowed, their protective instincts firing up as they watched their friend cry. They knew how much Ava had suffered and blamed herself after Ari's kidnapping. Everyone knew. Scooping down, they picked up the phone which had long since been hung up. Punching in a familiar number, they took a breath. "Hello. Yeah, this is Sei. They...They found Ari. They're alive. In a coma but alive. They're at Denver hospital."

Listening to the startled noises and sobs coming from Ava's mother, they nodded slightly to themselves as they were informed that she would ring her husband. Due to the García's working in Denver, it was agreed that they'd meet everyone at the hospital.

Hanging up, they placed the phone down before rushing to pull the still sobbing Ava into their arms. "It's okay. They're safe now. They'll wake up and recover. Ari's strong. You know that I know that. Everyone knows that."

"Y-You're right." Ava bit her lip, shakily rising to her feet, supported by her friends. "T-They'll be okay."

Julian smiled slightly and nodded. She, like all the other members of the NKA, saw Ari as a younger sibling. The news of their kidnapping had devastated them all. "Sei what's the plan?"

"We're going down to Denver and meeting their parents at the hospital." Picking up the keys left on the kitchen counter for the key that had been left in case Ava needed to drive anywhere. "Welp. Let's get going."

"W-Wait...I want to get some of A-Ari's stuffed animals. If they w-wake up and we're not there, it m-might comfort them." Ava smiled weakly at everyone allowing Julian to help her upstairs so she could gather some of Ari's favourite things. 

She was still in shock. Her beloved sibling was finally safe. She could rest easy, knowing that Ari wasn't being hurt anymore.

Robotically, she started picking things up from the room, carefully placing them in a duffle bag. "Gotta take this...Oh, and they'll love this one. Can't forget their favourite blanket. They'll need that."

Everyone waited patiently as she mumbled to herself, picking things up before going to her own room to grab the things she had taken out of their room to her own to feel closer to Ari.

Once ready, she sped up, quickly moving to the car. She wanted to get to Ari's side as soon as possible. She needed to see them too make the news real. She was happy that they were finally safe. 

Sei was already waiting in the car, ready to drive them all down to the city to reunite with Ari. Watching as the bag was delicately placed in the back seat with the others, they nodded and started driving with a grin. 

Finally, they had news about Ari. Everyone in town loved them. The kid was well known around town, often helping out where they could. 

Their kidnapping caused a greater depression than Craig and Tweek's fake break up. Many tears had been shed over the small child. 

Not caring for the law, Sei quickly sped up. Ari was more important than a fucking speeding ticket. Looking in the rearview mirror after a while, they saw that Ava had fallen asleep, wrapped in Ari's favourite blanket and hugging a penguin to her chest. 

"I can't believe Ari's been found. They're safe now. It's a relief that they're still alive." Kerri smiled softly as she ran her hand gently through Ava's hair. 

No one commented on the fact that Sei was well over the speed limit. They all wanted to get there as soon as possible after all. 

It took a while but the group managed to get to the hospital, Ava having been woken up the second they got into the city. 

The second the car stopped, everyone jumped out, Ava clutching tightly to her bag as she shakily ran towards her parents. She had messily shoved everything back in. "T-They're safe."

"We know honey...We know." She clung tightly to the two, before going inside with everyone, her legs shaking. 

"We'll wait out here." Kerri smiled as she sat down with the others. As much as they wanted to follow the family, they knew that the three would be the only ones allowed into the child's room. Not only that, the three needed time to be alone. 

 

Ava swallowed nervously as she rested her hand on the handle to Ari's hospital room, holding everything in her arms. Shaking, she opened it, covering her mouth and stumbling back as she saw Ari. 

They were hooked up to life support, their fragile body pale where it wasn't bruised and stained red from the blood that had been washed away.

"A-Ari?" Ava stumbled forward, collapsing into the uncomfortable chair next to the bed, sobbing again as she watched their chest weakly rise and fall as oxygen was pushed into their body

She ignored the horrified gasp coming from her parents, instead keeping her eyes locked with Ari's peaceful looking face. She couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors that her beloved sibling had gone through.

_"Don't worry Ari. I'll protect you. Nothing will happen to you, I swear"_   
_"You promise?"_   
_"I promise."_

The voices echoed in her head. She had promised them. She had _**failed**_ them. That fact made her sobs grow louder as he hid her face on the sheets of the hospital bed. 

"Oh, Ava...They don't blame you." Her father's words didn't console her. 

"I promised to protect them! I should have stayed in their bedroom that night! I should have made sure nothing happened to them!" She couldn't stop crying. The idea that Ari had gone through everything that they had. It made her sick. 

The words spoke from the doctor didn't register with her. She felt if she took her eyes off of them, they'd flatline. With a swallow, she kept her eyes locked on the battered body of the child as she reached into her duffle bag, carefully pulling out the blanket and tucked it around them, kissing the bruised forehead, wiping away the tears that dripped onto it. 

"I love you so much, Ari. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'll be a better sister from now on. I'll keep you safe." She wanted to hug them but knew she couldn't. Instead, she carefully tucked Ari's favourite toys next to them. 

Hours passed and still, Ava refused to move. No one could make her leave. Eventually, her friends were allowed in. 

She wasn't surprised to hear a growl coming from Sei. Everyone knew they were protective of their friends so seeing Ari like this had tripped that feeling. "I'm going to fucking kill those bastards."

Kerri shook her head. "They'll be in jail soon. Prisoners always find out their fellow inmates crimes and if it's one thing they hate, it's child abusers. I don't think they'll survive their sentence." 

The other teens pulled up chairs to join Ava who was carefully holding Ari's hand.

Julian rubbed her shoulder. "They'll pull through. Ari's a strong kid after all. To live in South Park you have to be."

The words brought a small sad chuckle out of Ava. After all, it was true. South Park was destroyed at least once a week. To survive that, you had to be strong. 

 

Weeks passed with Ava rarely leaving the hospital. She wanted to be there when Ari woke. They had been through multiple surgeries, and unknown to Ava, had died in the middle of one of them. 

She was half asleep when she heard a small groan. Her head whipped up as she looked at the child laying in the hospital bed, her heart stopping as tears came to her eyes. "A-Ari?" Her words came out in a hopeful whisper. 

A whine answered her as she was met with half-lidded heterochromia eyes that she had missed so much. "W-Wha?"

"Ari, can you...Can you hear me?"

"Avay?"

Tears ran to Ava's eyes. "Y-Yeah...It's Avey. I'm here kid." She reached over, pressing the button to call the nurse. "How are you feeling?"

"N-Numb...What happened?" Ari looked at her, their eyes wide in fear. "All I r-remember is a dark room. Where am I?" Their heart rate started to increase as panic set in.

"Shush. You're okay. You were rescued. You're safe. You were taken to the hospital." Ava gently ran her fingers through Ari's hair, humming softly in an attempt to sooth them. It slowly started to work.

She stood back as the nurses ran in, only to quickly move back as Ari started to cry loudly and beg for her. They had never liked strangers and they had just woken up and was suddenly rushed with nurses. "It's okay Ari. I'm here. They're just going to help."

"I w-wanna go home! Don't let them take me A-Avay! D-Don't let them put me in the darkness again!" 

Ava's heart broke at the hysterical words. "I won't let them put you in the darkness. I promise." She carefully ran her finger in patterns over their arm. Hearing Ari's nickname for her again was a relief. The family had been told that if they woke up, there was a high chance they wouldn't remember anything. She was glad that wasn't the case. "No one will put you in the dark again." 

Finally, the nurses left after making sure Ari was okay so the parents could be contacted. Ava softly started to sing to Ari in an attempt to calm the crying child. 

She knew that she'd never get Ari back 100%. A part of their mind would always be locked in that small dark room, but she didn't mind. All she cared about was that Ari was back now. She'd help them recover. Everything would work out for the better.


End file.
